Type is one of the most important pieces of a design. Is the basic building, is here where your potential client will read about your business and reach you. But are you using it right? Or your designer is using it, right? Well, let’s learn a little more about the difference and how important it is, ready?

There are 3 principles for typefaces, and is really easy to identify but be very careful or instead of a nice design, you will confuse your potential client.

1- Concordance: This one is when is used in a design all font from the same family, like Arial font, you can use some words in bold, italic, etc… But it will be the same font family, so for this principle make sure you are picking a superfamily type, so you can have multiple variations. Concordance is the easiest one to do, but don’t mean that your design is poor, if you choose a good font and know how to turn it interesting to the client’s eyes there’s no way to go wrong with the concordance. Let’s see an example?

I used here the Roboto Slab type, it’s simple right? Looks like a lot of different fonts but it’s just a big family 🙂

2- Conflicting: This one is the hard and most difficult to get it right. Conflicting is when we use 2 or more fonts that are very alike but have some particularities, but, like the name says is very trick, so pay extra attention to this elements:

Avoid using the same size for both fonts

Use colors

Try to use similar fonts with a BIG difference between them

Avoid using more than 2 fonts

Let’s see a WRONG use of conflicting typeface:

Note how mixed this is, I used 2 similar script fonts (Nautical and Lobster), all in the same size. So, we know that is something wrong, but what it is? Well, this is what your audience will be puzzled. And of course, we do not want this 🙂

Let’s see the RIGHT example now:

In this example, we have two (very different) script fonts, BUT with different sizes and a subtle color. So the result is something pleasing to the eye. Now we don’t spend time trying to figure out something like we did with the example before.

3- Contrasting: This one is definitely my favorite type! I use all the time and brings something fun to piece but at the same time focus the client on the information without distraction. Some people say that is the most difficult way pair fonts (I really think the conflicting is the hard one). The key is to find fonts that work so great together but are so different and find a perfect balance between the length of the text for each font used.

Let’s see a WRONG example about it:

Note that both fonts are very different, the script one has so many curves and laces that is hard to understand a long text, and the other font and different but don’t fit with the script one, there’s so much going on here that your client can be lost in the middle, and again, we do not want that.

So, let’s do it the RIGHT way now:

In this last example I used the same script font from the wrong example, but this time I applied in the short text, and to balance so many information I used a clean (but still fun) font.

Some secrets to never go wrong with fonts:

Every design is different, and how it will be applied too, if you are doing a fun t-shirt or social media post you can use more than 3 fonts, just be careful to get the right balance.

Think that the design is not for you, it’s for your client, so use fonts that are the perfect match for your audience.

If you have a designer that is doing your pieces, just be careful to check if the fonts are be using right (but in general trust in their work).

And if you do not have a designer yet, let’s talk 😉

Concordance, Conflicting, and Contrasting are 3 very unique styles of typefaces, which one, how and when it will be used is very unique too and the genre, target, and place will determine this. Stick with the good sense and you will not get wrong, if you feel that the font is not quite right, probably isn’t, so ask for your designer a revision and try to explain what is not good enough.

The font is one of the most important blocks in the design, always remember that. If you need some help with your next design, send me an email 🙂

Vector files and bitmap images are very different and many people still have doubts about how exactly it works. So, my job here is to teach you about the differences and get rid of those doubts once and for all.

Bitmap (or raster) images are stored as a series of dots called pixels. Each pixel is a tiny square that is assigned a color, with all these pixels together we get a complete image. When we zoom in in a bitmap image we can perfectly see the individual pixels. So, the problem here is: every data of the image is already closed, we already have a color, format, DPI, arrangements, etc… So you can’t edit so easy, let’s’ say you have a JPG/PNG image with 20x20cm and need to apply in a outdoor with 900x300cm, once you try to enlarge your logo everything will blur. In this case, you will definitely needs a vector file. Or if you just need to remove elements, or change colors of your JPG/PNG image? You will need to use photoshop and besides all the work still will not be 100%.

So the solution is have a large image like 900x900cm and be/have an expert in Photoshop, right? Not so quite right, first because an image in this size have two problems: very (very) large image (MB, GB, etc..) and you need a great computer to be able to edit. And second will take so much time to edit in Photoshop that just don’t worth it.it.

Vector files, unlike bitmaps, are not based with pixels, but instead, use mathematical formulas to draw lines and curves that can be combined to create an image from geometric objects. The vector files can be zoom 10000% and will be still the same, is the maximum quality of a file. Also, you can edit, remove, change, add, etc… any element without lose the quality or compromise the work.

Photoshop edition looks good right? NOT! See a little closer:

The change of colors in the vector file is perfect, but doing the same edit in the bitmap file you can see that is not 100%.

Now, try to imagine your brand in PNG 500x500px being print in some product and you realize that is a blur, low quality and not visible enough, yeah it will be terrible to your brand. But with a vector file, you don’t take this risks.

Bitmaps are great for photography, post on the web, photo manipulation, or to send to a print shop for a simple print. The two most popular image formats used are PNG and JPEG (the difference between this two you can read here). And vector is great for special prints, logos, types, solid images, brand, small and large prints, etc… The most common vector files are EPS, SVG, and PDF (you can read more here). But if you have an editable PDF, Ai, Affinity Designer or Corel Draw file that means you have the Source File in other words: The original place where your file was created.

Well, I hope I could help you to understand the difference between bitmaps and vector file, never forget to ask your designer to include a vector or a source file. And if you are looking for some designer let’s talk!

Very often we heard “logo” to describe a brand, but did you know that there is a difference between the brands Mcdonald’s, Google, Puma, and Burger King? And they aren’t all logos, the difference is not only about the style but how was build too. Every brand needs to be built following the basic: the client Brief. With a complete brief in hands, we can decide which one is the best for the client a Logo, Isotype, Imagotype or Isologo for the branding/product/service. Also impacts on the company image, how the brand will be applied and the purpose. So that is why is very important to understand what kind of brand do you have or you need.

There’s a lot of types of files out there, and JPG and PNG are the most common. In the first sign looks the same, but gets a little confused because have a lot of differences between this two.

Hi there! This is my first post here, and I need to be honest, I’m a little anxious, but let’s get started!

My name is Lorrane from Brazil, I’m a Graphic Designer Freelancer, Digital Nomad and a beginner in Illustration. I already lived in Thailand for a while and I’m looking for a new adventure out there.

I have more than 7 years experience in Graphic Design, I’m working as a freelancer almost 3 years and now living and working as a Digital Nomad more than 1 year (and loving it). Currently, I found a passion for illustration so I’m studying to build up my skills in illustration, doing hand-drawn logos (and I discovered that I just love this kind of design).

But, with all these years of experience, I could notice some lack of information from clients, technical details, and almost every client has the same questions. With this in mind I started to think about a blog not for designers, but to help clients to understand the power of a good design, to understand some tools that make life easier, to show the difference from an illustration to a hand-drawn logo, to explain why there’s a difference between RGB and CMYK, etc…

I hope to build here a place where people that don’t understand the technical details could be able to find solutions in the easier way. I’ll not bring tutorials explaining how to create a logo using a software, but I’ll show how a good logo has to be, what color is the best and why not to use Comic Sans or Great Vibes as a font in your brand.

Please, be my guest! Sit comfortably in the chair and take the time to ask questions or find solutions on my blog. If you need anything, just let me know 🙂